a) The majority of recreational drug users are not addicts. There are many more aspects to addiction than the mere substance.
b) The majority of recreational drug users are productive members of society. That includes many addicts.
c) Despite the criminalization, drugs are readily available in every Western country, and have been for generations. The negative side-effects you're trying to scare people with would already be in full swing.
Instead, we only see escalating negative effects in countries that wage a "war on drugs". In countries with liberal drug policies, the impact of drug use on crime and healthcare is so negligible it's not even an issue anymore. Even in the current climate where every instance of a small minority leaning disproportionally on social security or healthcare is a major issue.
The number of dysfunctional drug addicts in an otherwise well functioning society is extremely marginal, a load that society can easily handle, especially if the entire socially destructive and expensive apparatus of drug enforcement is disbanded.
I'm not even going to bother to score the obvious points regarding alcohol.
I don't disagree much with what you're saying here. Mostly only that I don't think that the effects of say meth are in "full swing".
I agree that most drugs that are currently criminalized should probably not be. I believe that use and addiction (for any substance) should not be criminalized, as that only compounds the problems users have, does not help them recover or contribute.
a) The majority of recreational drug users are not addicts. There are many more aspects to addiction than the mere substance.
b) The majority of recreational drug users are productive members of society. That includes many addicts.
c) Despite the criminalization, drugs are readily available in every Western country, and have been for generations. The negative side-effects you're trying to scare people with would already be in full swing.
Instead, we only see escalating negative effects in countries that wage a "war on drugs". In countries with liberal drug policies, the impact of drug use on crime and healthcare is so negligible it's not even an issue anymore. Even in the current climate where every instance of a small minority leaning disproportionally on social security or healthcare is a major issue.
The number of dysfunctional drug addicts in an otherwise well functioning society is extremely marginal, a load that society can easily handle, especially if the entire socially destructive and expensive apparatus of drug enforcement is disbanded.
I'm not even going to bother to score the obvious points regarding alcohol.